Method of building reinforced-concrete and composite vessels



G. C. AND RfE. NEWTON. METHOD 0F BUILDING REINFORCED CONCRETE AND COMPOSITE VSSELS. APPLICATION mgl) 1uNE24. |918.

1,367,986.- Patented Feb. 8, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

.miam

G, C. AND R. E. NEWTON.

METHOD OF BUILDING REINFORCED CONCRETE AND COMPOSITE VESSELS.

APPLlcAloN HLED JUNE 24, 1918.

1,367,986. v Patented Feb. 8, 1921. v

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

\ Mmm-mf mmm UNITED sTATss PATENT OFFICE.

GEGRGE C. NEWTON AND RALPH NEXVTON, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

METHOD or BUILDING.nnnvronoEn-ooivonntrn AND COMPOSITE vnssELs.

Application led June 24,

To ZZ whom yit may concern:

Be it known that we, Gnonon C. NEWTON and RALPH E. NEWTON, citizens of the United States of America, and residents of the city of Milwaukee, county of Milwaukee, and State of Visconsin, have invented a new and useful Improvement in the Methods of Building Reinforced- Concrete and Composite Vessels.

We do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the said invention such as will permit others skilled in the art to practise the same.

Our invention relates primarily to improved methods of building reinforced concrete and composite vessels and particularly vessels having reinforced concrete skins and precast or prefabricated ribs, cross frames, and stiffening'members. In the past reinforced concrete vessels have been built with ribs and skin integral, being cast at one and the same time. vThere have also been attempts made to precast the ribs and attach the skin later by running skin reinforcing rods through eyes that project from the exterior of the ribs. Ail of these methods are open to serious limitations. rfhey are eX- pensive and very difhcult and impracticable if not impossible for use commercially with large vessels vof molded form.

Our invention is designed to permit us to place the ribs in the final position they will occupy when the vessel is completed, to have the ribs act as alining, spacing, and holding members for the interior and exterior forms, and reinforcing and thus insure exactness of final result and enable us to dispense with the expensive shoring and other false work otherwise necessary to hold the forms in place. Furthermore, the forms can be made in standard sections for repeated use. lVe are also enabled by our invention to form a much stronger bond between the ribs on the one hand and the skin, keelson, and longitudinal beams on the other, and are enabled to place our reinforcing so as to give the maximum eificiency in taking up the strains in the skin, which cannot be done if its character and position is limited as in other forms of rib construction. It is very desirable in vessels of this class which are vnot cast integral to so construct the vessel as to avoid lines of weakness where the different parts join, and our improved method of construction enables us to entirely overcome this trouble. The points of at- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 8, 1921.

1918. Serial No. 241,512.

tachment between the ribs and longitudinal beams and between the ribs and skin are of strength as great as or greater than though the vessel were builtk integral and there is no tendency of the vessel to break open at those points nor are there any construction joints left which are liable to such tendency.

It is also desirable in many cases to use a different grade and kind of concrete in the ribs from that used in the. skin as strength is more desired in the one place and water proof qualities in the other. This we are, enabled to do by our method. We are also enabled where we use reinforced concrete ribs to pour them in a horizontal position which hasy many points of advantage over any other method of construction, among which might be mentioned accuracy and cheapness of form construction, accessibility for placingand inspection of reinforcing, and absence of voids in the finished product. The concrete may be placed around the skin reinforcing by lany of the well known methods, preferably by pouring between molds.

The accompanying drawings illustrate our invention: Figure l is a transverse section through a ship constructed in accordance with our invention, showing in elevation a cross frame comprising ribs and deck beams, part of the concrete being broken away tov show the, reinforcing; Figs. 2, 3, 4, and 5 are detail sections of several forms of anchoring means for attaching the ribs to the skin, all taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. l; Figs. 6, 7, and 8 are detail sections, also on the line 2 2 of Fig. l, showing the ribs with the forms held in position ready for pouring the concrete of the skin, and in Figs. 6 and 7 showing also the cargo battens in place; Fig. 9 is a partial longitudinal section along the keelson, taken on the line 9- 9 of Fifi'. 1, showinfrthe ribs, floor, and bottom skinin cross-sectiong and Figslf) and 1l are sections through the keelson, on the line 10H10 of Fig. 9. showing more in detail the scheme'of reinforcing and of attachment to the keelson, for two slightly different arrangements. Throughoutr the drawings, like numerals refer to like parts.

A ship constructed in accordance with our invention has the usual mainparts. There are a plurality of transverse ribs 1, and the upper ends of each transverse rib maybe connected by a transverse deck beam 2. The deck'- which restsA on these transversev deck 55 butt-Welding, riveting, or bolting.

arrangement shown in Fig. A i,the rod which Y beams may have any usual or suitable additional support, in lthe main not shown but often including` toreand-att beams 3. er keel l may be provided, as shown in Figs.

1 and 10, or may be omitted, as shown in inY accordanie With our invention, a skin 9 ot concrete, with suitable reinforcing 10 is supportedy by the ribs and abuts against their outer' edges,vbut is'constructed separately therefrom between forms held in place by the ribs, as hereinafter apparent. Usually, there is a floor 11 which rests on the keelson 5, floor beams 6, and the lower part of the ribs 1; and cargo battens 12 may be attached to the inner upright edges Ot the ribs 1, ing 13. Y Y. p

The ribs 1 and the transverse 'decl-t beams 2 are cast preferably in horizontal position, of concrete which is mixedV for maximum strength Without regard to vvater-proi ic qualities. When thus cast, they have partly embedded in them ardprojecting'troml their 'A outer'edges a plurality off temporary. supporting meinbus lll, tor abutting.; against and spafing the exterior s rin term, and also have partly embeddedV therein and projectv ing trom their outer edges a number of stirrups 15, which form part ofthe reinforcing meansand serve particularly as attaching Vmeans*between the ribs and sliinor between the transverse deck beamsand decir. rThese strrups may take a numberot forms, as

shown in Figs. 2, 3, 4, and 5, all of which Y show the sirrups embedded in both the ribs and the skin. ,In F1g;2,.the stirrup 15 is shown as aV simple metalbar vWhifh runs around the reinforcing bars 7 ot the rib 1 and Vhasits free ends projecting tron-afiche outer edge of the rib, so that When the rib is set `in place such'ends may Vbe bent into the plane ot the shin, so that they .will lie parallel to and naar the exterior ot the skin 9, and will cross each other. YBy lia-ving these ends cross, ,additional anchorageV Vis givenV to the skin. in the v arrangement Vshown in Fig. 3, the ends 15 of the rein n orcingstirrup 15' are not so longV as in Fig.

2, but are attached to a skin-reintoreing bar or plate' 16 in any suitable manner, as lby In the runs around the'. reinforcing bars isrclosed on itself;V and a separate rod 15 projects ptrom the edge ot the rib, and is provided at its Yinner -Vor embedded end with an anchor platevor bar 17, andat its outer projecting end is'attached to the shin-reintorcingrbar or plate 16 in the same manner as in the arrangement shown 1n Fig. 3.V Iirtherjar- 'rit the bilge lthere* be reiii'tord rangement shown 'n Fig. 5, the rod which runs around the reinforcing bar 7 is closed on itself as in the ar angement Vshown in Fig. 4.-, and tivo attaching rods 15, With suitable anchorages'in the rio project from the rib with rather long projecting ends, -as inV Vmembers lying in such plane.

After theV ribs andv transverse decl; beams have been east in horizontal positions and hardened, they are set up in the positions they are to occupy in the ship, the projecting ends ot the stirrups 15 are bent into the plane of the proposed shin or are attached to skin-reinforcing plates 16, and the 'forms for the skin are put in place. These'torms are attached to and supported by the ribs. The arrangement of forms is shown in ligs. 6, 7 andA 8. T he edges of the interior skin forms abut against the side faces ot therihs 1. rlllhe inner tace of the exterior skin form 19 abuts against the ,ten'iporaryV supporting members leifwhich are cast in *and project from the edges of the' ribs. The inner skin torni 18 is spaced from the exterior skin tor-1nV 19 vin any usual orconvenient manner. rflous these terms are deiinitely located with respecttov the rib. Both the interior and exterior slrin forms 18 and 19 are backed by a seriesot studding 20, in turn backed by girts, 21 extending transversely thereof. The girts for the outer skinV Jform are held in position by boltsY 22 and nuts 23, the inner ends of these .bolts being threaded and cooperating with internally threaded inserts ina 21.2Whifh are cast in the outer edges oi the arrangement, the bolts 22 can readily be.

Withdrawn ai'ter they have served their purpose of holdingjthe forms. Thegirts 21 for vthe iirer skin have their ends, which are close against the ribs 1, held in place by Vnailing piees 26 which in the arrangement shown in Figlie are icastenedlto the side Nfares oit theribs 1 by bolts 25 passing trans- 1rersely through such ribs. These 'nailing pieces 2G serve the double purpose of hold,- ing the girts 21 in place andV of providing nailing strips for the cargo battens 12, for obviously these cargo` battens are notV attached untilafter the skin has been poured and thetorms (including the studding and the girtsl have been entirelyY removed. lVhen desired. the nailing pieces 26 which are used 'tor holding the studs 21 maybe removed.y and new pieces substituted r'or the attachment of the cargo battens 12. rEhe iiO flooring 1l, if made of wood, may be attached to the nailing pieces 26 in the same manner. instead of the nailing pieces 26, held in place by the through-bolts 25, the pieces for holding the ends of the girts 21 for the interior skin form may be fastened to 'the ribs by bolts 3() screwed into inserts cast the side faces of such ribs, as shown in Fig.-7. rIhe cargo battens 12 and the flooring 11 may be held against the inside edges of the ribs by similar bolts 30 and inserts 31, but these inserts and bolts are usually not in the same plane transverse to the rib as are the bolts and inserts for the girt-helding pieces, although they are so shown in Fig. 7. When the skin forms 18 and 1S have been properly placed and braced, as described, and the skin reinforcements placed, the concrete for the skin is poured between such skin forms, and allowed to harden; and then the forms are removed.

`When the ribs 1 are of concrete, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7, additional strength is given to the joint between the rib 1 and the skin by having notches 28 cast in the rib and corresponding bevels or notches 28 on the interior skin forms 18 where they abut against such rib,so that in castingthe skin there are formed lugs or keys 29 which partially surround and grip between them the projecting end of the rib 1.

The ribs 1 may be made of rolled or fabricated metal, as shown in Fig. 8, instead of being made of concrete, as shown in Figs. and T. 1n such case, the skin forms 18 and 19 are also held in proper position by the ribs. Both skin forms have their backing of studding and girts, as with concrete ribs; the girts 21 for the outer skin forms are held, asbefore,by bolts 22,which in this case pass through the flanges of the metal rib 1, and the girts 21 for the interior skin forms are held in place by removable blocks 27 between such girts and the flanges of the ribs. rl`he skinattaehing members are in this case conveniently fastened to the flanges of the ribs 1, as by being passed through suitable holes near the edges of such flanges, and are bent into the plane of the skin, as shown in Fig. 8 and in substantially the same way as indicated for the concrete ribs in Figs. 2 and 5.

The keel 4 when it is provided, and with it if desired the entire keelson when its lower portion forms the keel 4, is preferably cast integral with the skin 9, so as to avoid any joints in the surface exposed to the water; the keelson may be cast integral with the skin even when its lower part does not form a keel. This is clear from Figs. 9, 10, and 11. Eis shown in such figures, the ribs 1 cross the keelson. Ordinarily, the ribs will be continuous across the plane of the keelson, so that the keelson will not be continuous through the ribs, though it may project above the ribs and be continuous over them, as is clear from Fig. 11. The rib reinforcements 7 extend transversely through the plane of the keelson, being` embedded in the concrete forming the ribs. In casting the ribs, part of the keelson reinforcements 32 may be cast in them; or holes may be left in the ribs through which the keelson reinforcements-32 may be passed; this, however, is not necessary for such of the keelson reinforcements as are located in that portion of the keelson which may project above the ribs 1, as shown in Fig. 11, or below the ribs, as shown in Fig. 10.

In practice, the ribs 1 and transverse deck beams 2 are precast or pre-fabricated, according as they are of concrete or steel. 1f of concrete, they are preferably cast in horizontal position, as has been stated, with the members 14, 15, 24, and 30 (if the members 30 are used,) and part of the keelson reinforcements 32 cast in them, as stated. r1`he ribs are set up in place, and may have the transverse deck beams or other deck supports attached to them. The stirrups 15 are then bent into the positions indicated in the drawings, or skin-reinforcing members are attached to them. Then the forms are set up in proper position with relation to the ribs, being supported by the ribs, and the reinforcements are put in place; and the skin, keelson, and longitudinal side and Hoor beams are poured to embed the reinforcements, preferably in one continuous operation up to the level of the lower portion of the deck in order to avoid construction joints in the outer surface of the ship. As the concrete of the skin and keelson hardens, it fastens these parts to the ribs as securely as though they were poured integral with the ribs. The concrete for the skin is preferably mixed as a water-proof concrete, so that it is different in its nature from the concrete of the ribs. This is made possible by the fact that the ribs and skin are poured separately. If a concrete deck or concrete fore-and-aft deck beams are used, they can be cast in a subsequent continuous operation; or if preferred, they may be cast in the same continuous operation with the skin, in which latter case the entire ship is poured integral with the exception of the ribs. y

Having thus described our invention we claim:

1. The method of building vessels with reinforced concrete skins, which consists Vin casting or fabricating ribs with form holding and spacing and skin reinforcing and attaching means as a part thereof, attaching forms to said holding means, and pouring concrete between such forms.

2. The method of attaching ribs to a reinforced concrete vessel skin, which consists in casting or fabricating ribs with skin reinforcing and attaching means as a part ifo '47,' mama@ thereof with the freeV ends thereofeX-tending outwardly therefrom, bending, said ends out of the plane of the ribs and into the plane of the intended skin, and pouring the skin concrete to embed such ends. Y f

3. The method of attaching' ribs to a reinforced concrete Vessel skin, which consists in castingl ribs with skin reinforcing and attaching means embedded therein and having; free ends extending outwardly therefrom, bending said ends so as vto join With the skin reinforcing, and pouringthe skin concrete to embed such ends. i Y Y l. VThe method of attaching Prefabricated or precastribs to n reinforced conci-ete Ves sel skin, which consists in so constructing the ribs end interior skin forms as to `i'orm grooves inwhieh theslrin concrete Will set to. form lugs or shoulders partially surrounding the rib, and pouring the skin concrete between such forms and into lsuch grooves to form said lugs or shoulders.

GEORGE o. NEWTON, RALPH n. New'ros.

Witnesses:

L. M. VHITFORD, EDWARD SULEWsKY; 

